


A Briggs Adventure

by waddiwasiwitch



Series: The North Chronicles [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 12:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5539544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddiwasiwitch/pseuds/waddiwasiwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Team Mustang are visiting Briggs, and General Olivier Mira Amstrong enlists Riza Hawkeye to help her on a mission. When Olivier and Riza get into an accident, they are forced to walk on foot through the wilderness and Riza is forced to combat not only bears and the cold of the North but also questions about her relationship with Roy Mustang. It seems even the General can be concerned with idle gossip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Briggs Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Written for pahndah on Tumblr for FMA Secret Santa 2015. She asked for some friendship between these two fabulous bad ass ladies of Fullmetal Alchemist, Riza Hawkeye and Olivier Mira Armstrong. There is also a smattering of Royai also as I just couldn’t help it.

  
**A Briggs Adventure**

General Olivier Mira Armstrong was wearing her customary scowl when she entered the temporary office that Roy Mustang and his subordinates had been loaned in the Briggs headquarters. Roy Mustang and his team sans Black Hayate had travelled to the North for the annual North- East military exercise. Riza Hawkeye could tell her superior was tense, there was something about Briggs that made him ill at ease.  
“Mustang! You set one of my men on fire!”  
Roy saluted, “It was an accident, General. No harm done, he was perfectly fine once he’d been doused in water.”  
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She turned at looked at Hawkeye, “I’m taking Captain Hawkeye with me for a routine inspection.”  
Riza did her best to keep her face impassive, but her superior was not as successful.  
His mouth gaped open, “What?”  
“Is there something wrong, Mustang?”  
“No, sir.” Riza could tell he was chewing his tongue to stop himself say something stupid. Considering the events of earlier that day, the less he said the better. Hawkeye hadn’t actually seen the incident and he refused to tell her exactly what happened. She would just have to get the story out of the men when they were a little inebriated. So far, they were only telling her that their superior swore them to secrecy.  
“Hawkeye!”  
Hawkeye saluted, “Yes, sir!”  
“Report to my office at 06:00 hours tomorrow morning! It’s a routine inspection, but there have been some rumours of rogue elements around of late and I hear you’re a damn good sharpshooter.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Don’t disappoint me, like that idiot superior of yours.”  
Olivier gave Roy one last withering look before she turned around and left the room as impressively as she entered. Roy was starring daggers at the General’s retreating back.  
“What the hell does she want Hawkeye for anyway, Boss?” Jean asked. “It’s not like she doesn’t have her own men.”  
“She’s pushing me to see how far she can go,” Roy replied.  
The four men exchanged meaningful looks.  
Wide eyed Fuery was shaking like a leaf, “Is it about you know what?”  
Havoc gave Fuery a shove towards the corner and Breda started to hiss in his ear. Riza couldn’t make it out, but she frowned when she heard her name and mention of fire.  
She looked at Roy, who was quietly seething beside her. “I don’t like this at all, Captain. She has no business using my subordinates for her dirty work.”  
“She still outranks you,” she quietly reminded him.  
Riza knew that he was little sour at getting here and learning that Olivier had been appointed the position of a full General when he had been looking forward to finally matching her in rank after his recent promotion from Brigadier General to Major General.  
She could feel the eyes of the rest of the team on her and she sighed. Men could be such idiots most of the time. Perhaps it would be a good thing to spend time with a woman for once?  
Holding a hand to quieten the men, who were whispering in the corner of the room, Roy turned to Riza again, “Sorry, I couldn’t get you out of it.”  
“Honestly, I don’t mind, sir.”  
“Really?”  
She rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry, I have no intention of abandoning you, sir.”  
“I know that, Captain. I just don’t like it when she tries to steal my subordinates from right under my nose.”

*********

The following morning, Riza reported promptly at General Armstrong’s office.  
“You’re on time. Good!” Olivier checked her watch. “Let’s go, Hawkeye.”  
Riza followed her through the corridors of the Briggs headquarters, their footsteps echoing as they walked. Anyone they met on their way quickly moved out of the way. Unlike Roy who liked to greet his colleagues Olivier kept starring forward and did not slow down her stride for anyone even the soldiers transporting heavy boxes. The place was very spartan and dreary in comparison to Eastern or Central. As she did with Roy, Riza walked a step behind Olivier, a little to the left. She caught a few of the younger soldiers leering at her. The older soldiers at Briggs knew the wrath of the Hawk’s Eye and respected her for her sharp shooting skills; these young men only saw a woman, which they had little of here in North Headquarters. She wondered if that had anything to do with the secrets that the Major General was keeping from her. Idiot! She was more than capable of holding her own against any lustful advances.  
“Any questions Captain?”  
“What is the mission, sir?”  
“I will be driving, I need you to keep an eye out for any potential assassins. That is all. The inspection is routine, but it is a few hours drive there and back.”  
Riza frowned, she had imagined that the General would be taking more men. “If you would like me to drive, I would be more than happy to do so.”  
“I know the terrain, Captain, your skills would be better kept watching for any trouble. After all, you’re one of the best sharpshooters in the army or so I hear.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Mustang likes to brag that he has the best shot in the Amestrian army.”  
Riza smiled a little at the compliment. She heard it often enough, but it was nice to know that Roy sang her praises.  
Up ahead, First Lieutenant Miles was waiting for them in the reception area.  
“Is everything ready, Miles?”  
“Sir! The car is out front and the supplies are in the back.”  
“Miles, take care of things while I am away, will you?”  
He nodded and saluted her, “Yes, sir.”

*********

Riza sat in the passenger seat and the General took the wheel, “How do you like Briggs, Hawkeye?”  
“It’s quite impressive, sir.”  
Olivier put the car into drive and clucked her tongue, “I asked what you think of it not what it looks like. Is it somewhere that you could think you could work?”  
“I will work anywhere I am sent.”  
“Don’t play with me, Captain. You know what I am asking.”  
“I must decline, sir. I am happy working for Major General Mustang and I have no intentions of leaving the team.”  
“I thought you would say that,” Olivier replied. “It’s your loss.”  
The General made a sudden turn to the right to avoid a boulder in the road. Armstrong might be an exceptional leader, but she was a terrible driver. Roy could be a little reckless behind the wheel, but he had nothing on this mad woman.  
Riza kept her eyes peeling for anything irregular as they drove. There wasn’t much to see apart from the white snow coated ground and trees as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful though, she had to admit. Olivier’s original chattiness had turned to silence as she concentrated the road if you could even call it a road; There were boulders blocking the road in parts and there were also wild animals wandering on the road way.  
“It’s survival of the fittest,” the General explained after a near miss with a fox. “Humans can learn a lot from the animal kingdom.”  
“I’ve always felt that animals are in some ways more intelligent than humans. They often pick up on things we miss.” Riza felt a pang as she remembered the dog she left behind in the care of her best friend, Rebecca.  
“Speaking of animals,” Olivier continued. “I really don’t understand what it is that you see in that mutt, Mustang.”  
Riza took a deep breath, the woman’s disrespectful words about her commanding officer were beginning to grate on her nerves.  
Olivier either ignored or didn’t notice her clenched fists, “You’re an exemplary soldier with a lot of promise. You could do well with a different commander.”  
“I believe in what he is working for and what he stands for,” Riza replied cooly, “He’s a good man, and I believe that he will do great things for Amestris.”  
“Pfft – there’s more than that.”  
Riza never got to find out what Olivier was going to say next as there was a loud rumble.  
“Shit! Watch out General!”  
Rolling down the mountainside towards the car was an avalanche of snow. Olivier tried frantically to accelerate in a bid to outrun the avalanche. Instead the car skidded and started to spin as the snow started to hit it. Riza was thrown forward into the dash and banged her head. When the car finally came to a stop, the entire vehicle had hit the ditch and was covered in snow. Riza turned to make sure Olivier was unharmed.  
“I’m fine, Lieutenant. I’ll be black and blue tomorrow, but nothing serious.” Olivier put her hand to her ribcage and winced. She must have hit the steering wheel.  
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Olivier opened her door and stepped out onto the snow. Riza followed, the crunch of the snow under their feet the only sound of life in the vicinity. Olivier’s hands were on her hips as she surveyed he damaged car. ”I don’t think we are going to get this car out of the ditch without help.”  
The bonnet was crushed, but there did not seem to much other damage. Olivier walked to the back of the vehicle and pulled out two rucksacks.  
She threw one to Riza, “I’m really going to test your ability as a soldier, Hawkeye. You’ll find enough provisions in that rucksack to last a week along with torches, ropes, bandages and disinfectant.”  
Riza was impressed. It seemed the General was prepared for all eventualities.  
Olivier starred at her, “You do realise there’s blood pouring down the side of your face.”  
Riza put her hand to her head and felt the warm sticky liquid.  
Olivier tapped her foot, “You might want to wipe that away or you could be drawing bears on us, Captain.”  
Riza smiled at the joke, but the General’s face looked completely serious. Riza reached into the rucksack and took out a wash cloth and a water canteen. She used a small amount of water from the canteen to dampen the cloth and used it to wipe at her face. The wound had stopped bleeding at least and shoved the dirty washcloth back into the bag.  
“Should we radio for help?”  
Olivier shook her head, “There’s no radio in the car, the reception out here is patchy unless you are near base. Besides, we just passed mark 102, we are about half a day’s journey on foot. We should go as far as we can tonight and find shelter. If we keep walking west, we will meet a parallel road and we can follow that.”  
Riza sniffed the air, she could smell smoke. “General, there’s a good chance this car will catch fire, we should probably get far away.”  
Olivier nodded and with a flick of her hair started to walk through the trees. 

********

Riza’s feet were aching; she wished wore warmer clothes. If she had known she would be spending hours walking through snow covered forests, she might have brought a warmer coat and furred boots. The sky was darkening and they had not reached the parallel road yet. Riza watched the General’s back ahead of her.  
“We’re not that far away, but we should look for shelter for the night,” Olivier said. “Tired, Captain?” The woman smirked, “Not many people have the balls to last in Briggs.”  
“I’m too busy to be tired or cold, sir.”  
They had stopped in a clearing and Olivier sat on a stump of a tree, “Eat, Hawkeye, you’ll need it.”  
Riza leaned against a tree and took a sip from her canteen. She found a crudely wrapped package in the bag with bread and cheese. She tore a piece from one of the loaves and broke off a piece of cheese.  
“Captain, I’ve always wondered why Mustang has such a loyal team. Tell me why is that?”  
The woman was like Hayate with a bone: tenacious.  
“He’s a good man.”  
“I like you, Hawkeye, you’re not afraid to said it like it is. There are not very many people of your rank that would dare to speak in such a way. Your candour is refreshing, but I am not sure that I would like my direct subordinates to be so direct. It makes me wonder if Mustang allows you speak to him in such a way? Some might say that it showed weakness in a leader.”  
“With respect, sir, I disagree,” Riza said.  
Olivier raised an eyebrow, “Explain!”  
“May I speak freely, sir.”  
Olivier waved her hand, “You have my leave.”  
“I think it shows the deep trust he has for his subordinates. He will always listen to what we say, but we all know he will do what he feels is right and we will obey regardless of our own opinions. He has our utmost respect.”  
The sound of a growl caused both women to get into fighting stances, Olivier with her sword and Riza with her gun. A meter away from the two women was a small bear. Riza shot into the air to scare the animal away. Both women’s eyes were on the animal as he scarpered that they didn’t notice the two larger bears coming from behind. The sound of a loud roar alerted them to their presence. One of the bears advanced towards Olivier. Riza acted instinctively to protect her superior and shot at the bear. Her foot slipped on the slushy snow causing Riza to catapult forward onto the ground and the bullet lodged itself in the bear’s left shank. The bear roared in pain and fled in the opposite direction. Despite losing one of the threats, they were faced with an extremely angry uninjured bear. Riza’s heart began to race and she somehow managed to get to her feet. The bear swiped at her, mouth open revealing sharp teeth. Riza tried to line up for a shot and pulled the trigger just as a claws connected with the left side of her stomach. She had no time to pay attention to the pain and rolled out from under the falling body of the bear. The adrenalin was starting to diminish and the pain of her wound caused her to gasp. She looked down to see the red blooming on her jacket before she blacked out with the pain.

*********

When Riza came to, she was lying on the ground and looking up at cave wall. The cave glowed with firelight.  
“Welcome back, Captain. Tell me do you feel as bad as you look?”  
Riza sat up warily, wincing as she did so. She could feel the bandages wound tightly around her waist. Her body ached from the hard floor, but it was nowhere as bad as the stabbing pains in her stomach.  
“I had to stitch you up, but you’ll have to see a medic if you want to avoid any scars.”  
“Thanks,” Riza said quietly.  
The bandages were wrapped around her whole waist, making Riza wonder if the General had gotten a look at her back.  
“You shouldn’t have made that shot, you know. I didn’t need you to shoot that bear for me.”  
“Habit, General.”  
“That mutt Mustang might need you to rescue him, but my men know that I don’t need them to save me.”  
Olivier passed Riza a bottle of whisky, “This will help wth the pain, and it will also keep you warm.”  
Riza took one sip of the amber liquid. The whisky burned her throat as she drank. She held it out to pass it back to the General.  
Olivier shook her head, “You need it more than me. Besides, I have a bottle of my own. Drink up, Lieutenant.”  
“I’m not sure that being drunk would be conducive to travelling, sir.”  
“Right now, I couldn’t take you more than a few metres before you’d collapse. You need a good night’s sleep, we won’t be going anywhere for a few hours at very least.”  
Riza could see the wisdom in her words and took another drink, deeper this time. She hadn’t had alcohol in some time and she knew that it wouldn’t take much to get her drunk.

*********

After drinking a quarter of the bottle, Riza was no longer wincing and she was feeling a lot warmer. It wasn’t so bad being stuck out in the middle of nowhere when you had alcohol to keep you warm.  
Olivier had her back against the wall and legs outstretched. “Is Mustang banging you?”  
“Pardon?” Riza could feel her cheeks burning.  
She wasn’t quite sure why she was embarrassed when she was used to people making allegations of impropriety between herself and her superior officer.  
“You heard me, Captain. You’re a little too loyal, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You could fly up the ranks if you didn’t let him keep you to himself.”  
“I must say I am surprised, General. I wouldn’t have thought that you would be interested in idle gossip.”  
“Answer my question, Captain. The least you can do is humour me. After all, we would be a lot closer to our destination had you not gotten yourself injured.”  
“No – he is not banging me!” Riza sighed, “Major General Mustang and I take the fraternisation laws very seriously.”  
“Aha – so it’s unrequited love then?”  
Riza didn’t bother to hide her eye roll. “Is this why you gave me alcohol?”  
“I admit I may have had ulterior motives,” Olivier confirmed with a shrug of her shoulders. “You have yet to answer my question.”  
“I am completely aware of that, sir, and I don’t intend on answering it.”  
“You’re brutally honest, aren’t you?”  
“I don’t much like liars,” Riza replied.  
“Let’s drink to that!”

**********

Riza managed about three hours sleep before the sound of footfalls woke her. Her instincts as a soldier had taught her well and she was on her feet, her gun cocked, in seconds. A sheepish looking Major General Mustang was standing there, “Take it easy, it’s just me and Lieutenants Breda and Havoc!”  
Riza lowered her gun immediately, though she didn’t see the two Lieutenants. She was still feeling a little woozy from the alcohol and her head was spinning a little.  
Olivier took a few moments before she followed suit and lowered her weapon, “If you think telling me that you’re here makes me less likely to want to kill you you’re delusional.”  
“Men, it’s safe,” Roy called over his shoulder.  
Breda and Havoc arrived with matching sheepish expressions.  
“It’s about time,” Riza said quietly.  
She couldn’t say that she was surprised he’d come looking for them.  
Olivier tilted her chin, “We didn’t need rescuing, I would have gotten us there if we had more time.”  
Riza let out a laugh which she regretted immediately for more than just the fact that it could be deemed insubordinate. She cradled her wound which was stinging.  
“Captain! You’re injured.” Roy rushed to her side.  
She put her hand on his arm, “I’m fine, sir. Just a scratch.”  
Olivier tutted. “Hardly!”  
“I’ve been patched up, sir,” Riza insisted.  
Roy raised an eyebrow, “If you’re sure, Captain, but I must insist on giving you my coat. You’re like an icicle.”  
Immediately, Havoc went to remove his coat to offer it to Olivier. It was considerably warmer than Olivier’s considering they had dressed with the knowledge that they may be traipsing the cold.  
Olivier made a scoffing noise, “I don’t need your coat. I’m perfectly fine. I am used to the cold of Briggs.”  
“How did you find us?” Riza took Roy’s coat gratefully.  
“We left at first light and we came across the car. We figured you would take a route towards the other road. We just followed the damage from there.”  
“What do you mean damage?” Olivier was scowling.  
“The carcass of the bear and the drops of blood,” Havoc replied.  
“Are you sure you are alright, Captain?” Roy’s eyes were full of concern, he put his hands on her upper arms and looked into her eyes. “Are you … drunk?”  
“Maybe a little,” she said with a very un Riza giggle.  
She could feel the touch of pink on her cheeks as he smiled at her.  
“Something for the pain,” she admitted.  
His expression changed immediately, the concern was back.  
“You said you were alright, Captain!” There was accusation in his voice.  
Olivier’s voice reminded them they had an audience. “Sorry to interrupt, but are you two ready to stop that ridiculous flirting ritual or are we all going to starve to death?”  
Riza and Roy jumped apart guilty, not before they caught Breda and Havoc’s upturned mouths.  
“The General is right, men.” He turned to Breda and Havoc, “Take the rucksacks!”  
Olivier opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as if she thought better of it. She was obviously more exhausted than she was letting on.  
Olivier walked over to Roy and Riza, “You ought to be more careful, Mustang.”  
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Roy lied, “I am simply tending to my captain.”  
“If people who didn’t like you were to see you acting so inappropriately with a subordinate, your career could be in ruins.”  
“There is nothing to talk about General.”  
“People can twist truths all they want. Enemies need just a whiff of trouble.”  
“It’s a good job we’re not enemies then, General! After all we took down the Homunculi together.”  
Olivier narrowed her eyes, “You’re a bastard, Mustang.” She turned to Riza and shook her head, “Your situation is even more pathetic than I thought.”  
Even with Riza’s foggy mind, she knew exactly what Olivier was referring to, but she was just as sure that she could trust her not to betray them.  
Olivier walked ahead following Breda and Havoc, who were making their way through the trees, “Idiots!”  
Roy and Riza watched her retreating back, she could see the wheels turning in his brain trying to figure Olivier out. She was sure that he would be questioning her later.  
“Can you walk on your own, Captain?”  
“Yes! I’m sure.”  
“Sir, I wish you wouldn’t provoke her so much.”  
“She provokes me just as much.”  
“She’s your superior.”  
“I didn’t miss your scolding, you know.”  
Riza couldn’t prevent the smile on her face. “Come on, they’ll wonder where we got to.”

************

They made for an interesting group, Breda and Havoc on point, guns at the ready, Olivier following them uttering an occasional colourful curse when she almost tripped on tree roots, while Roy and Riza held up the rear. The men had insisted the walk was about an hour, but over an hour had passed and Riza was beginning to wonder if they had gone astray.  
“I know exactly where we’re going,” Roy assured her. He pointed ahead where the trees were going more sparse and she saw a road in between the tree branches. The road was finally in sight, and Riza sighed in relief. The wound was hurting her more than she was letting on and the alcohol was beginning to wear off. She wasn’t the only one that was feeling the strain. After a half hour of obstinately suffering through the cold, Olivier had finally admitted that she was shivering.  
“Havoc, give me your coat!”  
Riza had tried not the laugh at Havoc’s eyes widening as he’d removed his overcoat immediately.  
Riza had long since given into Roy’s offer of an arm to steady her after nearly slipping on the snow several times. Impatient to get to the road, the men and Olivier clambered up the bank to the road. Roy and Riza followed anticipating the warmth of the van. Fuery was waiting by the vehicle and waved at them as they walked towards him. Seeing Olivier’s face, he quickly remembered to salute. Olivier ignored him and opened the back of the van. Open mouthed, they all watched as she took up the whole back seat and wrapped Havoc’s coat around her.  
“Where are we supposed to sit?” Fuery whispered.  
Breda shrugged, “I guess it’s the floor.”  
Havoc took the driver’s seat and Roy and Riza squeezed into the front. Riza closed her eyes and rested her head against the window pane. Roy’s thigh right next to hers was a little distracting, but she tried to focus on the cold glass beneath her face instead. A tell tale snore from the back seat told them that the General had fallen asleep. Fuery laughed nervously. Riza was about to drift off herself when she heard a whisper from Havoc.  
“So, Boss, do you think that they cuddled up to keep warm at night?”  
Riza could feel Roy freeze beside her, he could tell she was still awake.  
“Havoc, I heard that. I might be injured, but my trigger finger works just fine.”  
There was no mistaking his gulp, “Sorry Captain.”  
The men started to talk about some bet that Havoc made with some of the Briggs soldiers. Confident that Havoc wasn’t going to start putting her in his fantasies again, she started to dose. She was dimly aware when she turned her head and let it rest on something warm instead of the cold window. Whatever it was smelt like Roy. There was a reason why she shouldn’t be doing this, but right now she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was too comfortable – too tired.  
“Mmm.”  
She felt a calloused hand brush against her forehead, “I’m glad we got you back, Riza.”  
There was a loud snort from the driver.  
“What?”  
“I said nothing, Boss,” Havoc said, but even Riza in her drowsy state could recognise the amusement in his voice.  
“Her hair was going into her mouth, I just moved it out of the way.”  
Roy moved his hand away, and she felt its loss immediately and cuddled closer to the source of warmth. 

Fin

End notes: I really, really hope you liked this.


End file.
